Lok Sabha Election 2024: Rs 4 Crore 'Seized' from BJP Tirunelveli Candidate's Hotel Manager

A team of Flying squad has seized Rs 4 crore from three persons who were on their way to Tirunelveli in the poll-bound Tamil Nadu, police and election officials said on Sunday. The office of the state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) said the Income Tax department will launch a detailed investigation into the matter.

Chennai (Tamil Nadu): The election flying squad and police received confidential information and conducted checks in trains the Tambaram railway station spotted 3 suspicious persons in the AC coaches of the Nellai Express train. In the investigation conducted by the authorities, they have given contradictory answers.

Suspicious of this, the officers searched the 6 bags they had brought, and it was found that they contained around Rs 4 crores worth of cash. Subsequently, the officials confiscated the four crore rupees. The persons who tried to smuggle the money were identified as Sateesh, Naveen and Perumal. Also, Sateesh said that the Tirunelveli BJP candidate Nainar Nagendran is his boss and he is the manager of Nainar Nagendran's Blue Diamond Hotel in Purasaivakam. Also, it has been revealed that Perumal is a relative of Nainar. In this case, the officials arrested the three and took them to the Tambaram police station.

Following this, the TN Chief Electoral Officer's office said that the IT department will conduct a detailed investigation into the matter. The officials handed over the seized money to the treasury in the presence of Tambaram Tahsildar Natarajan. In this case, while the three arrested said that four crore rupees money was brought from that particular hotel, the flying squad launched probe at the hotel also. They were allegedly carrying the money from Tirunelveli to Egmore. Nainar Nagendran is also the sitting BJP MLA from Tirunelveli.

Later, the Election Flying Squad also raided the house of Nainar Nagendran's cousin Murugan in Virugambakkam. Also, it has been revealed that Naveen, Sateesh and Perumal, who were arrested during the investigation, had collected the money together from different places.

While the DMK demanded searches at all places belonging to the BJP candidate, the saffron party leaders described it as a smear campaign against their leader.

Sources said that the arrested persons brought the four crore rupees together with a certain amount from a hostel in Chennai Greenways Road, a certain amount from Elephant Gate area of Chennai and small amounts from different parts of Chennai.

Investigation revealed that the accused booked AC compartment in the train using the letter of Nainar Nagendran, a BJP MLA from Tirunelveli. In this case, while the Income Tax Department will conduct an investigation. If an amount of more than Rs. 10 lakh is confiscated during the election, the IT Department is going to conduct a detailed investigation into the matter of confiscation.

DMK organizational secretary R S Bharathi has sent a letter to the Chief Electoral Officer of Tamil Nadu, saying, "The officials of the Election Commission have seized Rs 4.5 crores at Tambaram railway station on the 6th of April in the Tirunelveli-bound Superfast express train. It is reported that this money belongs to Nainar Nagendran, who is contesting in the Tirunelveli parliamentary constituency."

Bharathi said that Nayanar Nagendran has stored huge amounts of cash in many places for distributing the same to voters and the officials should launch searches at all such places. The Bharatiya Janata Party also plans to distribute money to voters in all the constituencies where their candidates are contesting and all those premises should be checked, Bharathi said.

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